A Robust Wireless Power Transfer System With Self-Alignment Capability and Controllable Output Current for Automatic-Guided Vehicles

In this article, a robust wireless power transfer system is proposed with self-alignment capability and controllable output current characteristics for static charging of automatic-guided vehicles (AGVs). A reconfigurable circuitry is designed to work initially in an inductor-capacitor-capacitor-series compensation mode for achieving magnetic field self-alignment, then switched to the LCC-LCC configuration for wireless charging. Apart from the passive components used for wireless power transfer, no additional components, such as cameras, sensors, or dedicated sensing coils, are needed for self-alignment. The induced voltage of a series-tuned Q-coil on the load side is used for the AGV to automatically adjust its position. The vehicle will be self-aligned when the induced voltage becomes null, then the system is switched to a controllable constant current charging mode. A prototype is built, which demonstrates that the output charging current is controllable and can be kept constant against load variations. The experimental results showthe proposed system can realize an 89.1% dc-dc power transfer efficiency at an output current of 30 A and an output voltage of 48 V.

Automated summary

This article proposes a robust wireless power transfer system for static charging of automatic-guided vehicles (AGVs), which has self-alignment capability and controllable output current characteristics. A reconfigurable circuitry is designed to achieve magnetic field self-alignment and wireless charging. No additional components are needed for self-alignment. The induced voltage on the load side is used to automatically adjust the position of the AGV.